The carrying capacity and communication rate of optical fibers significantly exceeds that provided by conventional copper wire. As such, optical fibers are being used in increasingly diverse settings where features such as high information capacity, noise immunity and other advantages may be exploited, from telecommunications to aerospace to consumer electronics and beyond.
Despite their advantages, optical fibers are generally more fragile than conventional copper wire. This may be the case regardless whether the optical fibers are glass or plastic. In either case, a mechanical shock has the potential to cause an instantaneous disruption in the flow of light. More problematic can be situations in which the mechanical shock results in a break of a glass fiber and/or a plastic deformation of a plastic fiber. This can cause a permanent change in the shape of the fiber and thereby introduce noise, slow the transfer of information, or otherwise cause the fiber to perform below expected performance levels.
Optical fibers typically include insulating wraps/braids and/or a jacket that provides some protection against handling and other wear, but which may not provide a satisfactory level of impact protection. Thicker and multilayer fibrous polymeric or ceramic braids in combinations with wraps and polymeric jackets tend to make the fiber assembly bulky and heavy, rendering it unattractive for airframe applications where size and weight are often important. Metallic protective layers are also too heavy for most airborne applications. These and other drawbacks are found in current optical fibers.